(Disclaimer: Many of you know that I just visited my oncology team last week- Just so you know, all tests came back normal. I continue to have no evidence of returning disease. I am feeling happy, humble and very grateful for being in this place in this moment.) I have thought of western treatments like…
Category: Diagnosis
Burning Books and The End of Bad Expectations.
I have a confession. I have burned two books in my life. I am not a fan of censorship, I did read Fahrenheit 451, and to be fair I didn’t seek out every copy and destroy them, or start to steal them from public libraries to prevent others from reading them. Nonetheless I am a book burner. The…
Chapter One: Waiting
The other evening on my walk home from work in the beautiful summer warmth I started thinking, “What if learning about a serious diagnosis could be empowering, and life affirming rather than terrifying?” What would that look like? Here is the first installment of the story I imagined. I will add to it in the coming weeks. Sort of…
Loan Sharks and Cat Naps
“Better listen girl to what I’m tellin’ you You better listen girl, or we are through You better stop all your foolin’ around Stop your runnin’ all over town ‘Cause you’re pushin’ too hard Pushin’ too hard on me (too hard)” The Seeds 1966 Crash. Time’s up. Your goose is cooked. I think that I…
Contributing Factors Part 1 – Sickness
Part One – Why do we get sick? When my friend Jenniveeve, found out I was having a cancer party in my boob, she called me up to offer support. She wanted to know Why I thought I had cancer? The ten million dollar question to be sure. We talked about what would happen if…
Are you sure you really ever had cancer?
As I approach the anniversary of my diagnosis I have been reflecting on how far I have come. This post is perhaps a bit more in the realm of venting than usual. Details of my western medical treatments and their aftermath, along with the effects of impertinent questions. Read at your own risk. I will have my…
You say Placebo, and I say Nocebo.
pla·ce·bo (pləˈsēbō) a. A substance containing no medication and prescribed or given to reinforce a patient’s expectation to get well. b. An inactive substance or preparation used as a control in an experiment or test to determine the effectiveness of a medicinal drug. no·ce·bo (nəˈsēbō) A detrimental effect on health produced by psychological or psychosomatic…
Moving forward
So, we actually decided against changing to the treatment plan outlined in the April Fools post – though we hear it’s working great for some (see 4/1 comments). Tuesday’s final session of chemotherapy went smoothly. Now we’re in recovery mode, and Preparation-for-Surgery mode. Iris is spending extra time horizontal, reading books pertinent to treatment. We’re planning…
“You’re soo sensitive.”
A kind nurse at St. Vincent told me during BC Bootcamp (the first intense week of my diagnosis) that taking this journey is not about being Tough, it is about being Resilient. On Tuesday Joe and I traveled into Portland to see Dr. Allderdice, the Naturopathic Oncologist. I enjoy seeing him, as he is honest, direct, kind…
Milestones & bumps in the road…
It is one month since the biopsy that started breast-cancer-bootcamp-week on December 3rd. The initial acute phase of finding out the details of my diagnosis, and starting treatments is passing, and the process to redefine normal for our household has started. Today Laura and Jon helped me get a new buzz cut. It was…
Let the Games begin….
Greetings fellow travelers. Many thanks for your many acts of kindness and loving support. We are doing well for the first forty eight hours after my first Asklepios treatment. (AKA CHEMO) The doctors said that side effect symptoms will likely start more tomorrow, so I wanted to get the blog running. Joe, the Boys and…
Riding the Pooka 